Angels and Braves Throw Punches In Benches-Clearing Brawl

Tensions had been brewing between Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler and Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday night.

Soler rocketed a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. In the third, Lopez hit Soler with a pitch. By the time Soler returned to the plate with the Braves leading 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth, he'd had enough.

Lopez threw a wild pitch up and in that sailed above Soler's head and hit the backstop, which allowed Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel to advance to second. More dramatically, it set off a benches-clearing brawl that paused the entire game.

Soler walked slowly toward the mound while jawing with Lopez. Within five seconds, Soler charged Lopez. The two threw full-on punches, and a multi-player brawl ensued.

A few Braves tackled Soler to the ground, and Lopez was restrained by Angels All-Star Mike Trout away from the crowd.

Of course, as is customary with any baseball fight, the bullpens emptied as well — jogging toward the action and inevitably arriving late: Soler was replaced in the game by Jeimer Candelario, and Lopez was replaced by Tyler Kinley. According to MLB.

com Angels beat reporter Rhett Bollinger, Soler entered Tuesday night's contest 13-for-22 in his career when facing Lopez. Lopez and Soler were briefly teammates on the Braves after the San Francisco Giants traded Soler to Atlanta in July 2024.

The Braves traded Soler to the Angels on Halloween in 2024. During his first stint in Atlanta, the Braves won the World Series, and Soler was named 2021 World Series MVP. The Angels are Soler's sixth team in his 13-year MLB career.